title: The role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in thyroid neoplasms.
abstract: (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has established itself as an important imaging modality in many oncological and nononcological specialties and, as a consequence, it is increasingly being used in clinical practice. Since the first report of FDG being taken up by metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) cells >20 years ago, various groups of investigators have explored the potential role of FDG-PET scanning in patients with benign and malignant thyroid neoplasms. With the increasing demand for FDG-PET scanning, clinicians are faced with the challenge of managing an increasing number of FDG-PET-detected thyroid incidentalomas because their significance remains unclear. The aims of this review are to address some of these issues, specifically, the clinical significance of FDG-PET-detected thyroid incidentalomas, the ability of FDG-PET to characterize thyroid nodules, especially those with indeterminate fine needle aspiration cytology results, and the role of FDG-PET in patients with confirmed primary DTC and with suspected recurrent DTC, by reviewing the current literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. blang@hkucc.hku.hk
authors.forename: Brian Hung-Hin
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Tsz Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Law
mesh_terms: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18